Dispatch from the Seychelles

Up until a few months ago, the extent of my knowledge of the Seychelles, a collection of 115 islands some 932 miles off the eastern coast of Africa just below the equator, was a tongue twister I learned in high school debate class: “We went searching for seashells on the seashore of the Seychelles.” But after 17 hours in the air and a layover in Milan, I can report that the experience was much more fulfilling than my teenage self could have hoped for.

We landed after sunset in the country's capital, Victoria, located on Mahe island, which is the largest of the 41 inner islands. (Together, the Seychelles have a land area of only 176 miles, making it Africa’s smallest country; in 2010, the population of Victoria was approximately 26,000, which is more than a quarter of the country’s total population.) A local told me to check out a casino called Gran Kaz, on the downtown strip, which was full of all the appeal of a slot machine at a gas station by the Las Vegas airport. Still, it served as the perfect foil for what people really come to this part of the world for: its natural wonders. The next morning, we woke to a bright blue sky, crisp white beaches, and natural ecosystem that very nearly felt like a religious experience. I’m not alone in having been drawn to the Seychelles for its remote beauty—Prince William and Kate Middleton, and Victoria and David Beckham, spent their honeymoons on the North Island, and some stretches are so on-a-desert-island bare that even parts of Castaway were filmed here, on Cousin Island.

The famed coco de mer nut.

Photo by Derek Blasberg

For me, this trip was largely about disconnecting from my day-to-day, even if I did Instagram the entire time I was there. Daily, I swam with relish, and spent time reading books (real ones, with pages and everything!) on pristine beaches. I hiked, too, and a trek on Curieuse began at a giant turtle sanctuary and snaked through marshes that housed the world’s largest land crabs and under palm trees that were the size of a Jeep Cherokee. (Fun fact: One of the world’s largest tortoises is in the Seychelles. Her name is Esmeralda, and she weighs 670 pounds.)

In the UNESCO World Heritage site Vallée de Mai, which locals believe is the true site of the Garden of Eden, I became obsessed with the curiously shaped coco de mer nut, which can only be found in the Seychelles. The nut can weigh up to 33 pounds and produces the largest seed in the world. They've become such a novelty that many people attempt to smuggle them out—so much so that protest signs along the local roads read “Stop poaching our coco de mer!” Life underwater was equally florid, both off the local beaches and deep into the sea where small rock formations form villages for fish and coral. Visiting some friends on a boat off the coast of Petite Anse beach, we looked out over the water and saw a whale shark pass by.

The abandoned Mahé Hotel.

Photo by Derek Blasberg

Apart from its beauty, the two things that the Seychelles has recently become most famous for is its proximity to Somalia and its pirates, and an investigation by Robert S. Mueller III into a pre-Trump inauguration meeting here between U.S. businessman and Russian official close to president Vladimir Putin. (The former especially worried my mother, who apparently watched the wrong Tom Hanks movie, Captain Phillips.) While I did see several sunburned Russians at a few resort swimming pools, there was no sign of pirates.

The two most frequented resorts in the Seychelles are the Four Seasons on Mahe Island and the Six Senses Zil Pasyon on the island of Félicité. (Prices vary based on packages but, on average, start at $1,500 per night in the high season and $500 off peak.) Both have top-tier amenities—I particularly liked the hammock lounges at the Six Senses, which hung off a cliff and over the sea—but I was rewarded for getting off the beaten track: One of the most fascinating things I found while exploring the islands was the Mahé Beach Hotel, a luxury hotel built in the 1970s. After the last guest checked out nearly two decades ago, the owners up and vanished, leaving the entire place to be reclaimed by the nature around it. Trees grow out of the penthouse suites and moss has overtaken the pool, and there was something so oddly mesmerizing and inspiring about watching Mother Nature take back what was hers to begin with.